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Overview
Dodsworth and his (crazy) friend the duck have just arrived in Paris. It is their first time in the City of Lights, and they are ready for some adventures magnifique! Right away they see mimes, painters, and people wearing berets. They climb the Eiffel Tower, and the duck even finds some bent-over guy who rings bells for a living. It looks like it is going to turn out to be a great vacation in Paris . . . but trouble is never far from a misbehaving duck!
Synopsis
Dodsworth and his (crazy) friend the duck have just arrived in Paris. It is their first time in the City of Lights, and they are ready for some adventures magnifique! Right away they see mimes, painters, and people wearing berets. They climb the Eiffel Tower, and the duck even finds some bent-over guy who rings bells for a living. It looks like it is going to turn out to be a great vacation in Paris . . . but trouble is never far from a misbehaving duck!
The Barnes & Noble Review
Dodsworth and the duck, those popular world travelers, sail straight from Dodsworth in New York into their second adventure, Dodsworth in Paris, written and illustrated by Tim Egan. Dodsworth and the duck are a classic duo, somewhere between Frog and Toad and Laurel and Hardy. Dodsworth, the responsible one warns: " 'You can't cause any trouble here.' 'I wouldn't dream of it,' said the duck." Chaos, of course, ensues. The duck imitates a Parisian mime, rings Notre Dame's bells, and launches some unusual paper airplanes -- with comically catastrophic results. Egan's art is beautifully funny, in the spirit of Arnold Lobel, James Marshall, and Felicia Bond. His watercolors portray gentle, realistic versions of wildly unrealistic romps -- Paris streets filled with animals strolling, juggling, carrying umbrellas. Egan is a master of simple language and deadpan humor. "One painter had a beret on his head. The duck liked the beret. The duck picked up an acorn cap. He put it on his head. It looked like a beret, sort of. 'Very debonair,' said Dodsworth." Dodsworth in Paris will engage pre-readers and readers, with plenty to amuse the adults. (The animal ringing the bells at Notre Dame, for instance, is suitably hunchbacked.) --Liz Rosenberg
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Following on the success of Dodsworth in New York, Egan presents Dodsworth and his droll duck friend as they embark on another adventure, this time to Paris. While exploring the City of Lights, duck spots an artist in a beret and finds one of his own: an acorn cap. The next morning, duck leaves early and helps ring the bells in Notre Dame. Later, while atop the Eiffel Tower he uses all of the pair's Euros to make paper airplanes. With no more money, the pair must find a job, delivering bread by bicycle, but they get caught up in the Tour de France and lose it all. Dodsworth attempts to raise money by painting a picture to sell, which has no value until duck walks all over it and creates—Voila!—an impressionistic version that sells for enough money to lead to a happy ending. The charming ink and watercolor illustrations show a duck with (not surprisingly) very little facial expression but lots of body language that is sure to appeal. The vocabulary is controlled, though a smattering of words in French may present a challenge. Each page features an illustration and no more than a half page of text. Magnifique for most collections! Reviewer: Leslie RoundsSchool Library Journal
Gr 1-3
In this sequel to Dodsworth in New York (Houghton, 2007), Dodsworth and his mischievous duck visit the French capital, exploring street cafés, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre. Though Dodsworth has cautioned the duck, "You can't cause any trouble here," his companion gets into one escapade after another, from escaping the hotel to ring the bells at Notre Dame to folding all of their money into paper airplanes to fly off the Eiffel Tower. Egan's cartoon-style ink and watercolor illustrations enhance the comedy. Kids are sure to enjoy the zany humor and identify with the duck's playful nature. Some French words ("beret," "debonair," "magnifique," "bonjour," "monsieur" ) are an interesting addition to this easy reader while others are easily understood through the illustrations and context. A few are harder to decipher. Though their inclusion may prove challenging for some students, more sophisticated readers will likely be undeterred. At the end of the story, Dodsworth and the duck are seen floating off in a hot-air balloon toward England.-Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
From the Publisher
"Kids are sure to enjoy the zany humor and identify with the duck’s playful nature. Some French words ("beret," "debonair," "magnifique," "bonjour," "monsieur") are an interesting addition to this easy reader while others are easily understood through the illustrations and context."—School Library Journal"Egan’s refined ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict a Paris populated by nattily dressed animals, a place where the duck, despite his apparent attempts to behave, can get into trouble at multiple famous landmarks."—Horn Book